David “The Dragon” Pham Wins 2017 World Series of Poker $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em

It had been more than a decade since David “The Dragon” Pham last won at the World Series of Poker. On Thursday night in Las Vegas, the 50-year-old poker legend proved that he could still get the job done by earning his third career bracelet in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em event.

“It feels amazing,” said Pham. “It’s been a long time. Every year I’ve come close. Last year I made a final table, too. I had a stack, but I didn’t make it. Of course the money comes first, but the bracelet means something, too. It took me 11 years to make it [back]. You get emotional.”

The Vietnam-born Pham pocketed $391,960 for topping a field of 1,739, taking home the lion’s share of the $2,347,650 prize pool. His previous bracelet wins came in a 2001 S.H.O.E. event, and a 2006 no-limit hold’em shootout.

Pham was an unstoppable force on the tournament circuit for most of the 2000s, winning Card Player Player of the Year honors in both 2000 and 2007. He now has $9.94 million in career tournament earnings.

The final table also featured poker pros Aditya Agarwal (9th) and Jordan Young (2nd). Other notables to make a deep run included Young Phan (12th), Mike Sexton (26th), Mike Leah (27th), Dan Heimiller (39th), Dan Sindelar (53rd), and Ben Heath (54th).

Here’s a look at the final table results.

FinishPlayer NamePayoutPOY Points

1
David Pham
$391,960
1080

2
Jordan Young
$242,160
900

3
Roman Korenev
$174,559
720

4
Melissa Gillet
$127,180
540

5
Kevin Trettin
$93,667
450

6
Nathan Pfluger
$69,741
360

7
Billy Rogers
$52,503
270

8
Huihan Wu
$39,969
180

9
Aditya Agarwal
$30,773
90

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2017 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.

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